James Graf of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Calif., has been named manager of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter mission.

As project manager, Graf will oversee all aspects of the
development and operations of the mission, proposed for launch
in August 2005. The mission will conduct remote sensing of the
planet's surface to identify evidence of past or present water
and will help identify safe and scientifically exciting landing
sites for future robotic and perhaps someday human missions. The
Reconnaissance Orbiter will also establish a telecommunications
link for future missions.

"The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission is a giant step
forward in our capability to examine Mars. It will enable
scientists to pull back the curtain on this very confusing and
mysterious planet and study the surface in unprecedented detail,"
Graf said. "The imager on board the spacecraft should be able to
resolve ground features to a resolution considerably higher than
anything we've done before. For instance, we should be able to
identify rocks down to two-thirds of a meter in diameter [about
two feet]."

Graf previously managed the Quick Scatterometer mission
(QuikSCAT) and the development of its SeaWinds radar instrument.
Graf has been with JPL for 25 years. He has a bachelor's degree
in science and engineering from Princeton University, New Jersey
and a master's in mechanical engineering from Colorado State
University.

Graf, his wife Kris, and their two children live in La Caņada,
Calif.

JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena.